The Week That Was: Playoff teams, golf finals, and more…

Published 12:41 pm, Monday, April 25, 2016

…Week 7 of the high school football season saw two more teams - Harbor Beach and Kingston - clinch post-season berths while a couple of others are on the verge.

At 5-2, Ubly and Cass City need to win just one of their two remaining games.

For the Bearcats, another win would secure their fourth-straight trip to the playoffs, following a season in which they lost in the Division 7 semifinals.

Ubly has a road trip at Greater Thumb East rival Harbor Beach (6-1) this week, and will host Bad Axe (1-6) in Week 9. The Pirates have been a thorn in the side of the Bearcats, and have beaten them eight consecutive times.

In fact, we have to go back to Sept. 29, 1995 for the last time Ubly beat Harbor Beach (24-18).

The situation for the Red Hawks is entirely different. They have never been to the post-season in school history.

Even if Cass City were to miss the playoffs, the team still came through with its first winning season since 1994.

However, I don't think the Red Hawks' players and coaches have come this far just to settle for a winning season. They want more, and I think they're going to get it.

It's not going to be easy, though, as they finish up at Deckerville (3-4), and Freeland (6-1).

The game with Deckerville couldn't come at a worse time for Cass City as the Eagles are stinging after a 61-44 loss to Sandusky which surely will end their Thumb-best eight straight playoff appearances.

The next two weeks of the regular season could be the most exciting yet as Ubly, Cass City and many others fight for their playoff lives.

Moving on…

…To the state golf finals are a couple of teams and many individuals after the Division 3 and 4 regionals on Friday.

Harbor Beach captured the team title during the Division 4 competition at Ubly Heights Golf & Country Club.

The Pirates rolled with an impressive eight-shot victory to secure their fourth-straight trip to the finals. They were led by a 1-2 sweep by Phil Gornowich (78) and Scott Delpiere (79).

Also, Ubly's K.C. Mellas fired an 82, good enough to qualify him as an individual.

Elkton-Pigeon-Bay had to settle for a second-place finish during the Division 3 event at Woodland Hills in Sandusky.

However, I don't think the Lakers will be too upset with second as they head to the state finals for the first time since the mid-1970s.

Aaron Diebel shot a 79 to lead EPBP.

It's hard to believe the end of the golf season will be this weekend at the state finals.

This may also be the end of an era in Thumb golf as the golf season is slated to move to the spring starting next year if the Michigan High School Athletic Association fails in its appeal of the Gender Equity case.

Road Warriors…

…Going through one of the toughest stretches on the road of any area basketball team - EPBP is coming through with shining colors.

The Lakers are still in command of the Greater Thumb West with their 3-0 mark, and are fresh off their third-straight road victory and fourth overall.

On Thursday, EPBP went into one of the toughest places to play in the GTW in Reese and blew the Rockets out, 58-43.

The Lakers remain on the road one more time this week at Valley Lutheran Tuesday before returning home to host Bad Axe on Thursday.

I've gotten a chance to see EPBP three times now, and this is one of the most exciting teams around. The Lakers have been on the verge of something special over the past couple of seasons, and it looks like they're ready to make the most of it.

Performance of the Week…

…The list of candidates keeps on growing for this weekly honor, and I've even included a couple of athletes from out of our coverage area because their numbers were just too impressive to ignore.

In all, there are 11 athletes deserving mention this week.

Back in Week 2, I said after Unionville-Sebewaing Area's Lance Travis rushed for 254 yards and three touchdowns, he would have to do something special to capture the Performance of the Week again.

Friday night, Travis topped himself in his first game back after injuring his ankle in Week 5 against Cass City.

The senior tailback racked up 190 yards rushing and scored four times in a 69-6 win over Marlette, showing the rest of the area he is back, and the Patriots are once again healthy.

Normally, we don't go out of our coverage area to recognize athletes, but the numbers Loding put up in a 61-44 win over Deckerville on Friday were just too impressive to pass by.

Loding was a one man wrecking crew as he gained 309 yards on 28 carries and scored five times for the Redskins proving why they are the No. 2 team in Division 6.

Loomis wasn't too shabby in that game with 134 yards and three TDs for the Eagles.

Bitzer and Halasz simply ran wild on Bad Axe in the Red Hawks' 56-0 win Friday night. Bitzer led the team with 157 yards on the ground with three touchdowns while Halasz had 135 yards and a pair of scores.

Howell led the Lakers with 162 yards on the ground and three scores including runs of 49 and 47.

Sheltraw tossed in an area-high 42 points including a perfect 15-for-15 from the line to lead the Chargers to their first GTW win of the season, 68-60 over Bad Axe.

Robinet scored a school-record 37 points for the Wildcats in their 75-65 victory over Ubly.

Byrne had a career-high 27 points in the loss to Valley Lutheran.

Gornowich battled through the tough winds at Ubly Heights to come away with medalist honors at the Division 4 regional final, firing a 78.

Feger kept the Lakers' hot streak going with four goals in a soccer game last week.

Game of the Week…

…I've been covering Thumb football for five years, including the season I worked for the Tuscola County Advertiser, and I've never seen anything like I witnessed in Bay City All Saints, 36-34 win over EPBP on Friday.

Despite turning the ball over five times - leading to four scores for the Cougars, the Lakers still found themselves with a shot to win the game.

They trailed 36-13 heading into the fourth quarter, and in the miserable rainy conditions, could have been content to call it good, and just get they game over with.

That wasn't the case though, as they scored 21 unanswered points in seven minutes to close the gap to just two points.

However, with over five minutes to play and three timeouts, the defense was unable to come through with the final defensive stop it needed to get the ball one more time.

The fourth quarter also featured perhaps the best run I've ever seen at this level as Juan Howell scored on a 47-yard scamper which saw him break tackles from just about every BCAS player.

I think a couple of players came off the sideline to tackle Howell, but it still didn't matter. The run was a perfect balance of speed, agility, and power, and it something I will never forget.

I really thought the Lakers were going to come away with the win, but it wasn't too be. The loss shouldn't take anything away from the heart and determination they showed that night, though.

Paul P. Adams is a sports writer for the Huron Daily Tribune and can be reached at (989) 269-6464 ext. 112 or padams@hearstnp.com. The Week That Was appears every Monday and Thursday.